“When I think about it now, I wished for it as a kid.” It being Santosh Tiptur’s life as a chocolate maker. Tiptur grew up in India and from his first bite of Cadbury Eclairs, he was curious about how it was made. After almost three decades of working as a professional pastry chef, Tiptur tries to figure out how to politely say he no longer appreciates the brand that stirred his interest.
Last year, Tiptur opened The Conche, a chocolate-themed restaurant with a chocolate boutique. His team creates artful, spray-painted bonbons, sea salt caramels and bars with exotic ingredients such as Amarena cherries and Cantonese caramelized black sesame seeds. The trendy dulcey blond chocolate—caramelized white chocolate with a butterscotch color and a dulche de leche taste—also makes an appearance, decked with black currants and Caramelia crunchy pearls.
Tapping into the local market, he spikes ganache with Mt. Defiance Cider & Distillery cider, Stone Tower Winery Hogback Mountain red wine and Old Ox Brewery Black Ox rye porter. For the chocolate-giving season (Valentine’s Day), expect rose wine and raspberry bonbons.
Chocolate can be found at local wineries and coffee shops, and later this year, Tiptur hopes to launch an online store. Until then, The Conche—inside Villiage at Leesburg—is where to buy, and take chocolate-making classes. Says Tiptur, “The moment you walk in you feel like you’re in a chocolate paradise.”
